Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Financial Institutions from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Financial Institutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.67.

Financial Institutions Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Financial Institutions stock opened at $32.03 on Friday. Financial Institutions has a fifty-two week low of $20.97 and a fifty-two week high of $33.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $644.76 million, a P/E ratio of -23.38 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.55.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $63.85 million during the quarter. Financial Institutions had a positive return on equity of 11.10% and a negative net margin of 2.93%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently -90.51%.

Financial Institutions announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, September 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to buy up to 0.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Financial Institutions by 30.4% during the third quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,774,886 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,277,000 after purchasing an additional 413,376 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 89.4% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 775,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,348,000 after purchasing an additional 365,924 shares during the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC boosted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 54.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 846,661 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,742,000 after purchasing an additional 299,574 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Financial Institutions in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,069,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 132.8% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 348,478 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,698,000 after buying an additional 198,820 shares during the last quarter. 60.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Financial Institutions Company Profile

Financial Institutions, Inc (NASDAQ: FISI) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide tax-advantaged income to shareholders. The company invests primarily in investment-grade municipal obligations issued by states, municipalities and government agencies across the United States. By focusing on high-credit-quality bonds, Financial Institutions aims to deliver current income that is exempt from federal income tax.

In constructing its portfolio, the company may also utilize money market instruments and repurchase agreements to manage liquidity and facilitate efficient settlement.